Big Beautiful Brisket
8-12     8-10 hours     Smoke     Oak
Brisket is a feast that will require you to put in a bit of work. But you’ll be rewarded with the most satisfying meals of your life. Plan your nap now.
Post oak is the traditional choice for wood to smoke brisket in Texas, so-called because it is also used for fence posts. It’s actually a different variety of plant than white oak, but I doubt you can tell the difference.
1 cup salt
1 cup freshly ground black pepper
1 (8-12 pound) brisket
1 cup mustard
1 cup orange juice
1 cup apple juice
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup Slap Yo Mama BBQ Sauce (found in Top This) , divided
  1. Preheat the smoker to 225°F and add wood.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the salt and pepper. Set aside.
  3. Trim off some of the fat from the brisket, leaving about a ½-inch cap of fat for moisture. If the brisket is too large for the smoker, separate the point (or deckle) from the flat to make two roasts.
  4. Coat the entire brisket with the mustard and generously apply the salt and pepper all over.
  5. Place the brisket in the middle of the rack with the fat side up.
  6. Stir together the orange juice, apple juice, apple cider vinegar, and ½ cup of the Slap Yo Mama BBQ Sauce, and pour the “mop sauce” into a clean spray bottle.
  7. Smoke the brisket for 4-5 hours until a digital thermometer reaches 165°F.
  8. Spray the mop sauce all over the brisket and wrap it tightly in butcher paper or aluminum foil.
  9. Place the wrapped brisket back on the smoker rack and continue smoking for 4-5 more hours, spraying with additional mop sauce every other hour.
  10. Even if it stalls, leave the meat on until it reaches an internal temperature of 195°F – 205°F.
  11. Unwrap the brisket, spray once more with the mop sauce, and let it rest for 45 minutes before slicing.
  12. Serve with the remaining Slap Yo Mama BBQ Sauce.
Many pitmasters make “burnt ends” with the point after smoking. To fix them up, cut the cooked meat into cubes, sprinkle with ¼ cup BBQ rub, glaze them with 1 cup of BBQ sauce and smoke again at 275°F for 1 hour. Yum!